Greg Sargent: It isn’t just Richard Cordray. Obama is also set to use recess appointments to install his picks to the National Labor Relations Board, according to White House officials and others familiar with ongoing discussions.

The move, which is arguably as important as the Cordray appointment, will ratchet up opposition from Republicans and make this an even bigger fight, since they have been attacking the NLRB regularly for its moves to streamline union elections and inform workers of their rights.

…. Obama’s move, which will help energize unions in advance of the 2012 election, is yet another sign that he is determined to circumvent GOP opposition and make government functional again by any means necessary….

ThinkProgress: Republicans have shown outrage at Obama for using his recess appointment powers with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray, and similar outrage is likely to follow the news of the NLRB appointments. But the past three Republican presidents also made recess appointments to the NLRB. Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush each made three recess appointments to the NLRB, while George W. Bush made seven such appointments.

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AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka: We commend the President for exercising his constitutional authority to ensure that crucially important agencies protecting workers and consumers are not shut down by Republican obstructionism. Working families and consumers should not pay the price for political ploys that have repeatedly undercut the enforcement of rules against Wall Street abuses and the rights of working people.

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NYT: A defiant President Barack Obama, tired of Senate Republicans stalling his nominee to lead a new consumer protection agency, put him in charge Wednesday over their opposition.

“I refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer,” the president said.

… With a director in place, Obama said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can start overseeing the mortgage companies, payday lenders, debt collectors and other financial operations often blamed for practices that helped undermine the economy.

Obama announced the move with Cordray by his side before a cheering crowd in Ohio … “Every day that we waited was another day when millions of Americans are left unprotected,” Obama.

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Chief Operating Officer David Chavern, speaks in the Rose Garden to urge Congress to pass a federal highway bill

….. with David Chavern and AFL-CIO President and member of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness Richard Trumka

National Journal: AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has two words for Scott Walker: “Thank You.”

The Wisconsin governor’s plan to restrict collective-bargaining rights for government employees, which unexpectedly passed Wednesday night in the state Senate, has energized the labor movement in a way not seen in a generation, Trumka said.

“We probably should have invited him today to receive the Mobilizer of the Year award. In your lifetime, have you ever seen this much solidarity? Have you ever seen this much excitement?”

….Trumka said the controversy has helped shift the focus away from austerity measures to collective-bargaining rights and the economic health of the middle class. “This is a debate we’ve wanted to have for 20-25 years,” he said. “Well, guess what? Suddenly, the debate came to us. And here’s the most beautiful part of it: We’re winning that debate with the American people,” he said.

President Barack Obama greets AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka before a meeting with the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House on February 24

White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

President Barack Obama with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, August, 2010

Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued the following joint statement on President Obama’s State of the Union Address:

“America’s working families and business community stand united in applauding President Obama’s call to create jobs and grow our economy through investment in our nation’s infrastructure.

“Whether it is building roads, bridges, high-speed broadband, energy systems and schools, these projects not only create jobs and demand for businesses, they are an investment in building the modern infrastructure our country needs to compete in a global economy.

“With the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO standing together to support job creation, we hope that Democrats and Republicans in Congress will also join together to build America’s infrastructure.”